Last year’s All-Star Mile winner Mugatoo and Caulfield Cup runner-up Nonconformist share something in common with Extra Elusive, the latest European import to join Symon Wilde.
Extra Elusive is one of just three horses currently in training in Australia that can lay claim to have finished ahead of Zaaki when carrying more or level weight.
Mugatoo achieved the feat when fourth in last year’s G1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) while Nonconformist raced past Zaaki as runner-up in the G1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m) won by Probabeel last October.
Extra Elusive’s day of glory over Zaaki came in Britain, the pair meeting as five-year-olds in their homeland, as Extra Elusive won the G3 Rose of Lancaster Stakes (2056m) at Haydock in August 2020 with Zaaki 4.25 lengths away in fourth.
Extra Elusive made all to land the Group 3 @BetVictor Rose Of Lancaster Stakes in comfortable style for @HollieDoyle1 and @RogerCharlton 👏 pic.twitter.com/ssK2SAH6ki
— Haydock Park Races (@haydockraces) August 8, 2020
Extra Elusive lost form last year and was offered for sale last October during the Autumn Horses In Training Sale at Newmarket and with those fashionable formlines at his peak, was purchased by bloodstock agents Alastair Donald and Ed Sackville for a client at 55,000gns (A$105,000).
However, when complications arose with the intended original owner, OTI Racing’s managing director Terry Henderson was only too happy to acquire the Mastercraftsman gelding.
“He’s a decent horse, he is seven years old but he hasn’t been over raced and he has been looked after very well,” Henderson said. “If he can return to that form in the UK he can be an exciting horse.”
Henderson saw Extra Elusive at Warrnambool last week and said the good-sized chestnut gelding is settling into his new surrounds with Wilde.
“He is coming along well but the Warrnambool Cup will come up probably a bit too early for him,” he said.
“We’ll be setting fairly modest targets early days and he can go from there. Because he had ability we want to make sure that he has every chance to be right by the time he kicks off.”
Extra Elusive has raced 22 times for five wins and seven minor placings, finishing 13th of 14 starters in the 2021 US$20m Saudi Cup (1800m) on dirt and sold at auction following four battling unplaced efforts in UK stakes company last year.
This article was written by Carl Di lorio and can be read in full through Racing.com here.